‘I couldn’t get him out’: Boater recalls attempt to rescue pilot after plane crash
By Adam Roberts, Katie Hamner, Chip Scarborough
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BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KHBS, KHOG) — A boater on Beaver Lake called 911 on Thursday after trying to rescue the pilot of a plane that crashed into the Lake.
40/29 News obtained the 911 calls revealing the efforts he made to rescue pilot Kim Sweet.
911 caller: “I couldn’t get him out, it’s terrible.”
911 operator: “Could you tell if he was conscious?”
911 caller: “Yeah, he was conscious.”
Sweet died in the crash, according to a spokesperson with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
The crash happened in the Monte Ne area of Beaver Lake at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The boater told 40/29 News that he pulled his boat up next to the plane and tried to open the cockpit door, but he couldn’t get to the pilot before the plane sank.
“I couldn’t save that guy, I tried,” he told the 911 operator.
A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration stated that the aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances. It listed the model as an experimental Jodel F-12.
“It’s out in the open part of the water, because he came down pretty low and his engine was running low and he just went off and into the water. I heard him crash,” a 911 caller said.
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